Following Livlan out of the Enforcement Hall building, Arthur finally relaxed, his body no longer tense. It wasn't just Livlan's thoughtful gift that moved him—it was mostly due to the overwhelming sense of pressure he'd felt upon first entering the building.
"Livlan, I wanted to ask…" Arthur started, but she cut him off. "About the pressure in the Enforcement Hall?"
Arthur nodded. While inside, he'd felt an odd stiffness in his body despite Livlan's touch temporarily relieving the sensation. After a while, however, symptoms like difficulty breathing and mounting tension resurfaced. Arthur had intended to ask about these bodily sensations earlier, but the emotional impact of receiving the teddy bear had delayed his question.
"Actually, I might be the only one who can tell you this," Livlan began. "At the Charity School, some teachers are retired Enforcers or clerks, and they couldn't explain this to you directly even if they wanted to." Arthur looked at Livlan with growing curiosity. Why was she so keen to share?
"In every ruling faction across the land, regardless of race, a few objects left behind by the gods are carefully preserved. After the gods perished, their allies among the orcs and merfolk joined in a sweeping struggle that spanned the four continents. They sought to seize these remnants—the artifacts and items left behind by the gods."
What did she mean by remnants of the gods? And why would anyone fight over such things? Before Arthur could ask these questions, Livlan continued, "You want to know why these objects are sought after, right?"
Livlan gave him a mysterious smile and explained, "That's because divine relics retain a bit of the gods' aura." She continued, "The Etzikri Enforcement Hall, for instance, possesses a relic from Gaia, the Goddess of Harvest—a heavy earthenware jar known as the 'Goddess of the Earth's Gift.' One of its powers is what you just experienced. Anyone who enters its vicinity without having touched the jar feels an immense pressure, a sensation as if they're being watched. That's a part of Gaia's aura. As the Goddess of Earth, her power carries a sense of heaviness."
Arthur interrupted, "But I…?"
"You're wondering why, after I touched you, the pressure temporarily vanished?" Livlan asked knowingly.
Yes, but I don't think I need to know now, Arthur thought, stepping slightly away from Livlan. He was beginning to understand why Captain Dodge had been annoyed with his questions when he first arrived in Brighton City. And, in turn, he could see the appeal of Dodge's silence-enforcing herb.
"It's because the jar's power is selective," Livlan continued. "Once someone touches it, they're marked as a 'friend.' Then, if that person touches someone else's shoulder or arm, the jar temporarily treats them as friendly, too."
They had now exited the side alley of the Enforcement Hall building and were back on Etzikri Street. Arthur noticed Livlan glance at him before she finally fell silent, much to his relief. Just as he was about to ask if he could return to the school to finish cleaning, she caught the question on his lips and continued speaking, "Do you know why you weren't allowed to touch the jar directly? Because there's a place in the Etzikri Enforcement Hall behind a locked alloy door…"
Is it really okay to tell a seven-year-old like me all this? Arthur thought, his mind drifting toward George's way of thinking after spending so much time with him. Thankfully, Livlan stopped there, sparing Arthur from wondering if an Enforcer would soon emerge from the next corner to silence him.
As they casually chatted about academic topics, they slowly made their way back to the school. Arthur placed the teddy bear back in his shirt pocket and resumed sweeping the school's first floor, while Livlan returned to her office.
...
North Brighton City, Vols Manor, Western Wing
In the western building of Vols Manor, Edwards was dressed in a long gown trimmed with lace, sipping tea by a window in the reception room. Across from him sat a guest from the Elf Forest, Legolas Nome, Captain of the Queen's Guard.
With delicate, fair skin, Legolas possessed hair that shifted from gold to silver, and green eyes that symbolized the elven affinity for their deity. His was the color of the wind's essence. Leaning forward with a serious expression, Legolas looked over the stack of reports on the table, all gathered from the reconnaissance team stationed at Sunset Town.
Edwards tapped his fingers lightly. A butler stepped forward, whispered a few words into his ear, then quickly left the reception room.
"Now you see, esteemed guest from afar, our common enemy—the damned orc tribes—have united under twelve tribes and are electing a single orc king. This hasn't happened for a century. We suspect they aim to establish a new orc kingdom—or even an empire—on the southern continent," Edwards said.
Legolas picked up the top report, which listed the names of the twelve chieftains, with the chief of the Winged Beings, a fierce race of bird-like creatures, at the top. This tribe was closest to them and often clashed with the elves over resources and food.
"If this is true, I'll report to our queen, and our elven warriors will join forces with your human troops along the lower reaches of the Hiss River," Legolas responded.
"Our forces will await the elven response in Sunset Town," Edwards replied. "I hope you, Legolas Nome, Captain of the Queen's Guard, will return to the Elf Forest quickly. Based on our intelligence, the orc tribes will likely elect their new king by the end of the year, and by early next year, we expect them to launch an invasion along our border."
The situation was indeed urgent. But why had the orc tribes suddenly chosen to unite? Without more information, Legolas struggled to understand Edwards's certainty about an orc attack. Could it be that humans had acquired some powerful artifact unknown to the elves? Watching Edwards's seemingly innocent smile, Legolas felt a chill—a suspicion that perhaps a divine relic was involved.
But as much as he suspected Edwards of hiding something, Legolas recognized that the threat from the orcs was real. If the orcs broke through the human defenses, the balance of the southern continent would be shattered, and the elves would be in peril. So even if Edwards was concealing something, Legolas knew he had to lead the elves in assisting the human defenses.
This human was indeed a peculiar character; he hadn't been this way five years ago when he'd first taken office. Standing, Legolas shook Edwards's hand, formally sealing a renewed strategic alliance between the elves and humans against the orc threat.